Pope Francis prayed Saturday to call for an end to the pandemic, and used his Christmas Day message to call for healing for all, vaccines for the poor and for dialogue to prevail to resolve the world’s conflicts.
Amid a record boom in COVID-19 cases in Italy this week, just a few thousand people flocked to St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican to hear the annual message “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the city and the world “) of the pope. Typically, the square would be packed with tens of thousands of people to celebrate the holiday.
At least this year they were able to meet. The quarantine declared in Italy during the 2020 holidays forced Francis to deliver a televised speech from inside the Apostolic Palace to prevent crowds from forming in the square. Although Italy counted more than 50,000 cases in a single day for the first time this week, the government has not ordered another round of lockdown.
The pope’s message at Christmas gives you the opportunity to draw the attention of a global audience to conflicts large and small. This year was no different. Francis lamented the open conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, the new tensions in Ukraine and Ethiopia and the “unprecedented crisis” in Lebanon.
“We have become so used to (conflicts) that immense tragedies now pass in silence, we do not risk hearing the cry of pain and anguish of so many of our brothers and sisters,” he said from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, while the Swiss Guard stood guard in the square.
Francisco issued a warning about the trend in the pandemic to seclusion and isolation, and instead urged dialogue to try to resolve the world’s conflicts. He prayed in particular for those hardest hit by the virus, including women and children who have suffered an increase in abuse during quarantines.
“Son of God, consolation of the victims of violence against women, which has increased in this time of pandemic. It offers hope to young children and adolescents who experience abuse and harassment, ”he said.
He prayed for “comfort and warmth” for older adults who are alone, as well as for health workers who “generously dedicate themselves” to caring for the sick.
“Grant health to the sick and inspire all men and women of good will to seek the best possible ways to overcome the current health crisis and its effects,” he said. “It opens hearts to ensure that necessary medical care, and vaccinations in particular, are provided to the people who need them most.”
Francis delivered his speech a few hours after officiating the Mass of the Rooster for some 2,000 people, a fraction of the basilica’s capacity. Although the ceremony is usually held at midnight, the service began at 7:30 p.m. in a concession from the 85-year-old pontiff’s forces. The schedule was already used the previous year, when the service was to end before the declared curfew in Italy.
For the second day in a row, Italy broke a pandemic record with 50,599 new cases in one day. 141 people died, bringing the official death toll from the pandemic to 136,386.
Given the arrival of the omicron variant in Italy, the Vatican Secretary of State this week imposed a new obligation to vaccinate the personnel of the Holy See and extended it to all workers except those who had recovered from COVID-19.
Until then, only employees who directly served the public, such as the staff of the Vatican Museums and the Swiss Guard, were required to be vaccinated. Other workers could access their offices if they had regular diagnostic tests. Now there was no such alternative.
